Copy holding device for reading stand



Y Oct. 1, 1957 N. R. LYKES COPY HOLDING DEVICE FOR READING STAND Filed Feb. 3, 1956 kfiih x 11 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTO BY A.

Oct. 1, 1957 N. R. LYKES 2,803,908

copy HOLDING DEVICE FOR READING STAND Filed Feb. 5, 1956 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.

INVENTOR.

Fig.7 y

sion leg shown in Figure 7.

United States Patent Ofilice 2,807,908 Patented Oct. 1, 1957 .-.'2,s07,9.0s COPY HOLDING DEVICE 'FORQR'EADING STAND Norman Rr Iigykes, Scottsdale, Ariz. ApplicationFebruary 3, 1956, SerialNo; 563,281 a Glaims. (61:45- 80') This-inventionrelates toiniprovementsin reader stands .andcopy .stands,,portable lecternsandholders for archi- .useful to invalids .or bedriddenypatients who are unable to read in a sitting position, orto bed readers who tire of sitting-up. My device permits them-to read lying down with-the book-held in place and slanted down above the eyes.

Also,zthe-ease of turninga book pageimakes this simple but effective invention {adaptable-to-.being'used on music stands and lecterns, particularly where there may be a breeze which would otherwise disturb the leaves-1 orpapers being held.

Finally, my device can-beelevated inany of "a number of ways to sit :behind ;a typewriter, thereby making it easier for a typistzto copy readingmaterial. :It'can also be elevatedas a lectern, making itzeasier for-a teacher or-lecturer orpublic speaker to speak'from'a deskror. table withoutihaving to bend down toreferito notes .or papers.

In'the drawings:

Figure 1is a perspective viewof thefront-ot a-device incorporating the features of this :i'nvention.

Figure 2 is a perspective rear view of ;the-apparatus shown in Fig. 1. v

Figure 3 -is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view shown on line A-A in Figure -1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the shelf rest in Figurel.

Figure 5 is a-side elevation on a slightly reduced scale of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. a

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modification of my inventionibeingused by a bedridden patient.

Figure 7 is a rear perspective view of a modification of apparatus shown in Fig. 1'.

'Figure8 is an enlarged perspective view of the exten- Referring'to Figure 1,-the stand comprises a main back member 1 andaprotruding'lip or shelf rest 2 upon which a book63' or papers -areplaced. As viewed in'Figure 2 at app'roxiamtelythe center of the-rear of the main back 1 is attached in-anysuitab-lefashion a strengthening or supporting plate 16. Attached to this plate 16 is a friction hinge 17, which in turn is attached by a bolt and nut assembly 18 to leg 11. The nut is screwed tightly to insure a friction action. Out of the bottom of leg 11 protrudes a peg 19, as shown in the cross sectional view of Figure 3. The bottom of the support leg and peg fit snugly into a slot 20 and hole 21 of a strengthening plate .2 12, attached securelyto base 13. Thus constructed, it can clearlybe:perceived thattthe mainzbackcan be slanted-or tilted at any angle :forcomfortable reading or copying. Also, "it can be:tilted' horizontally asdisplayed. in Figure 5,

thus-quickly.transformingthe reader stand intola lectern.

If it is desired to zincreaseithe :height, extension leg. .22, viewed in Figure 8, is inserted ibetween'the'bottom'of support leg 11 and ithe supportingplate12 of base 13.

Peg v 19 oft-the supportleg i1 fitsiintothole .24'ofithe extensionileg, -.while peg 25'-:fitSkl-1'1iOIh0le.21Of the base-plate assembly. Lip 23 which extends above the top of the extension leg ,-22,,'prev,ents the copy stand from-swiveling :around. The device withithe extension inplaceis viewed :inFigure :7.

The extension degs .shown :in these drawings are only suggestivevof several which: could be successfullyzused on my :invention. The. legs "mayhavea tubularextension, with alock-nut:orffrictionzthumb :screw. asmse'd in camera tripods, :or a frictionbnttori; -.or a slot or -holes. with a thumb-screw -;or -bolt .and wingnut; ior a series of legs hinged together so that they fold and unfold.

The retainingrmeans, as. shown in iFigures 1:and4, consist essentially of twotelements. :The primary one Iconsists of a pair; of heavy. elastic cords orrsprings which are knotted ;at :both ends. The knotted ends of each elastic cord *5 ,are positioned inacountersunk-hele slots 4 v.ofthe support shelfI-2. 'Thethickness ofsthe copyor reading material to :be held in;place will determine the particular countersunkrhole in i-slot :4 :the :=knots.:6 .willreside in.

To describehow the book .:is ;placed.in:the device,.=let

seven ofja textbook. jHe turnsrto chapters sixan'd eight,

holding ;the pages ccomprisingzchapters six and :seven ver- -,tically, separatiugrthemxfromthe rest of the book. He then stretcheszthe. elastic .cord' 5-ion the left over the pages and book cover remaining on .theleft'side and positions knot 14 in slot? atthetopof-themainnbaek 1. Then lie-repeats this action with the rightcordandpages and The book lnzmany cases these free pages would be stiff, refusing to lie fiat. Or a breeze or draught could disturb-them. Accordingly, the secondary retaining element =takescare of these aspects. This elementconsism of a bar 7 and a spring or elasticband 8. The ends of the spring or band are :attachedin any suitable fashion totthe ends of the bar 7. As illustrated in the drawings, the 'elasticbands have 'knots9 and .are'strung through small holes inthe bar. The bar is placed overthe :front of the book, and

the elastic or spring behind the main back 1. The bar may be adjusted anywhere up or down over the book until .it is stopped in the back by the friction-hinge. To .turna page,-a person simply slides the ba'r downtothe support shelf with the left'hand, turns the page-with-the rightihand and then-places the bar bac'k up again with the left hand. In this action the reader does not 'have to let go of the bar whiletu'rning thepage, and the action is ac'cornplishedsmoothly, quickly and easily.

lReferring back totheprirnary' retaining means, instea d of having the countersunk notches in slot 4, the bottom of support shelf 2 could protrude outwards and downwards atananglesothat when the elasticcord isstretched into position the knot will have :a tendency to press inward against the book. Also, if it is desired to reduce the outward protrusion of the support shelf 2 in the interest of saving space or of design, a hinged extension of the slot 4 could be secured to the support shelf 2. Or, in the interest of economy of manufacture, the slot could be left out entirely, and the elastic cord 5 secured at the bottom of back 1 through a single hole. While this effectively retains a book or sheaf of papers, there is a tend- 28. Thumbscrew 29 tightens therod in place.

ency in this method to crimp the bottom of the page unless one is careful to prevent it.

Referring back to the secondary retaining element, to

of main back 1. Similarly, there area pair of stops on the bottom of support shelf 2 for the retainer bar 7. Thus, the bar may rest just under the support shelf while placing the book or papers in place, or when it is not needed, as shown in Figure 7.

The vertical elastic cords 5 may be spaced apart any width desired. However, a recommended width is 7 inches. This width not only takes care of most sizes of books, but also the standard 8 /2" x 11" typing papers. It is a simple operation to place the two cords along the edges of a standard sheet of paper. This holds them securely, and it is easy to slip the right edge of the sheet,

from under the right elastic cord with a leftward grasping motion, and then pull the whole sheet out to the right from under the left cord. And if an open book smaller than 7 /2 inches wide is to be held in the device, one needs only to criss-cross the elastic cords 5--the left cord being positioned in the right slot 3, and the right one in the left slot.

The primary retaining means need not be restricted to vertical elastic cords. They may be made of cotton, string, leather straps, plastic, etc., anchored at the bottom of the back member 1 and attached at the top rear by a knob, or hook, or clamp, of buckle, or clip, or any other suitable means. Also, the primary retaining means may consist of vertical bars with holes through each end and principles of my invention.

corresponding holes in the top and bottom of the back to heavy elastic bands or springs, the other ends of which would be anchored to the right and left sides behind the main back member. The tension in the springs or elastic cords would be sufiicient to adjust'to various widths of books. 1 T

In Figure 6 an invalid is shown lying down reading a book above his eyes. The two vertical cords 5 hold the book in place and prevent it from falling out of the device, even though the book and'stand may be completely inverted. As shown, the rear of the stand is attached in any suitable fashion to the end of a horizontal rod 26 at .17. The slant and the horizontal right-left position may be adjusted by moving within the horizontal sleeve Similarly the up-and-down position may be adjusted on vertical rod 27 and tightened in' place by thumbscrew 30. The end of vertical rod 27 is inserted into one of three holes in T-square-31, and secured by tightening thumbscrew 32. The T-square 31 is secured to C-clamp 33. Thumbscrew 34 secures the whole assembly to either a spring frame or bed frame. It could also be attached to a table or desk edge, or open drawer for those who like to read leaning back in their chairs, with their feet on .their desks.

On a larger scale, the reader-copy stand maybe con- .verted into a holder of plans for contractors and architects. In this event there is no need for positioning first the left elastic cord 5 in place and then the right one. The entire operation can be eifected in a single effort by joining the top ends of cords 5 by a stretcher bar 51 as shown in Figure 7. This way the positioning in place of the single bar takes care of both cords at the same time. For this purpose, it may be desirable to have more vertical cords 5 attached to the stretcher bar 51 with a corresponding number of notches and slots 4 and 3.

The device, of course, may be any size desired. 'However, its interesting to note that this stand will accommodate books which open up to a width wider than the stand. To accommodate them, all that is needed is a retainer bar 7 slightly longer than the Width of the oversized book.

Also, because of the nature of the retaining devices, the device could operate without a lower protruding shelf 2. t

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A copy holding device for a reading stand having a main back member, a copy support shelf fixed to the lower edge thereof, and means to support the copy on said main back member in reading position including a holding device comprising a primary retaining element consisting of a plurality of spaced vertically disposed elastic cords adjustably fastened at their lower ends to said shelf, and secured at their upper ends to the top edge of said main back member, and a secondary holding element comprising a horizontally disposed vertically adjustable bar extending across said vertically disposed elastic cords on the opposite side thereof from the copy supporting surface of said back member, and elastic cord means connected to the ends of said bar and extending behind said back member to normally draw said bar and vertically disposed elastic cords toward the front copy supporting surface of said back member.

2. In a copy holding device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the adjustable fastening of the lower ends of said spaced vertically disposed elastic cords comprises trans- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,111,607 Nyberg Sept. 22, 1914 1,285,932 Calder Nov. 26, 1918 1,609,180 Motono Nov. 30, 1926 1,867,498 Craig July 12, 1932 1,898,666 Isaacson Feb. 21, 1933 2,016,197 Hollingsworth Oct. 1, 1935 2,481,107, Gore Sept. 6, 1949 

